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USA Today: Mary Landrieu among 24 senators who use charter flights for travel

Mary Landrieu

Sen. Mary Landrieu, pictured here at a news conference, used taxpayer funded charter airplane plans for some travel within Louisiana during 2013, according to USA Today. She was among 24 senators who relied on charter service for travel, the newspaper said.
(The Associated Press)

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., was one of 24 senators who flew on taxpayer-funded charter planes to travel around their home states in 2013, according to a new report in USA Today.

The tab for the 24 senators was $920,000.

Landrieu, according to the USA Today review of Senate records compiled by the Sunlight Foundation, charged $47,000 for charter flights in 2013. Among them a $5,500 round-trip between New Orleans and Lake Charles, according to the newspaper.

Matthew Lehner, Landrieu's spokesman, responded to the report with this statement:

"Sen. Landrieu believes in visiting with constituents throughout the state so she can hear their concerns and better serve their needs. Currently there are no flights between cities in Louisiana. All commercial flights go from Louisiana to a neighboring state and back again, costing significant time. When driving is not possible, due to long travel distances, Sen. Landrieu used 1.6 percent of her office budget last year for occasional chartered flights so that she and her staff are able to visit multiple areas of the state within a short time frame. This alleviates the need for multiday stopovers and maximizes the senator's interaction with her constituents."

Among the senators who used charters in 2013 was Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., who reported $18,000 worth in 2013, according to USA Today. Spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said the senator sometimes takes a charter when there isn't a commercial flight available to take him to official events around the state.